


ozonolysis

by moon_jelly



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Gen, no beta we die like men, set between memory 18 and zelda getting to the castle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:40:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24674764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moon_jelly/pseuds/moon_jelly
Summary: some bonds break, while others are formed.Or, after putting the Master Sword to rest, Zelda goes to Hyrule Castle.
Relationships: Zelda & Koroks
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	ozonolysis

**Author's Note:**

> this is unedited and unbeta'd so it might be messy but i hope you enjoy it anyway  
> i wrote this v quickly bc i couldn't get it out of my head lmao but first zelda fic! ayyy!  
> title is from my homework i have no excuse  
> uhm angst warning, Guardian violence warning? idk it's pretty tame  
> :)

The walk back to the castle is long. 

Zelda refuses to take a horse - after all, it might be shot down by a roaming guardian. And while she's sure that she can stop them eventually, she might not be fast enough to save an innocent creature. Just like... she wasn't fast enough to save Link. 

She's not willing to risk any more lives for her own. Not anymore. 

What Zelda can't deny, though, is that the company would have been nice. Trudging through the mud outside of the Lost Woods is a slow process, made worse by the fact that this time, there's no one there to listen. In the past, Link would always at least be there, a calm and reassuring presence by her side; when they were traveling together, Revali was always willing to debate her on any topic. Urbosa would let her talk about the latest discoveries in Sheikah technology, and Daruk would regale her with tales of his own past adventures. And Mipha… Mipha was simultaneously the one she related to the most and another object of her jealousy, but a delight to be around all the same. Zelda hadn't been without their presence in a  _ long _ time. 

It is quiet - too quiet, without even the sounds of fleeing people - and the silence weighs on her. This road used to be bustling, lively, even though it was rather far from any of the larger cities. The military training camp used to be to the right - it’s been somewhat destroyed by Guardian beams - and she remembers coming there with her father as a young girl. The soldiers had all been kind to her, especially after her mother’s death, but there’s no one calling out to her from the camp now. 

Zelda hopes and prays that the silence is because all the soldiers have fled to the Akkala Citadel, and forges onward. 

When she gets to the outskirts of the newly-built Rauru Settlement, she notes that it’s as silent there as the rest of her walk has been. It doesn’t make sense, though - it was a new settlement, only a few months old, and had been full of civilians moving in when she had last passed through it. She hadn’t gotten the chance to check on it during her flight to the Korok Forest, but still… 

Zelda didn’t  _ want  _ to consider the possibility that they had been attacked first, and she’d been too busy being helpless to save them from the Guardians she could now defeat. 

But she can’t leave them be - the soldiers could take care of themselves, but her other subjects were a different story - so even as she closes her eyes and just  _ breathes _ for a moment, she deviates from her straight path to the castle and heads into the settlement. 

The Rauru Settlement is pretty much completely wrecked, a far cry from the shining place it had been just a few days ago. There are holes from Guardians in the walls of almost every house, and at least one building has completely lost its roof. Zelda can see the signs of fleeing people laying across the road, not to mention the bodies. There aren’t many out in the open, and it gives her hope that most of the settlement residents managed to flee to safety - at least until she reaches the pond just beyond the road. 

The pond water has turned red with blood. The bodies aren’t stacked up, per se, but they  _ are  _ everywhere, and the sight makes Zelda’s stomach churn. For a moment, she wonders how the smell didn’t reach her first, when she realizes that over the last few days, she’s become entirely too used to the stench of death. Not even the birds are chirping, even though by now the sun has fully risen, but when she listens closely, it’s not quite as silent as she had thought it was. 

From a few feet away, she hears a weak cough, one that would have never reached her ears had she not been listening so closely for any signs of life. She turns, a hope rising in her heart, and rushes to the person laying on the ground. 

It’s almost immediately obvious that Zelda isn’t going to be able to save them. Their breathing is weak, pulse fluttering with sporadic heartbeats. Yet another person is dying, and even with all of her power, she is still powerless to stop it. 

Zelda has never hated herself more. 

She sits next to them anyway, wanting to at least give them comfort in their last moments. This close, Zelda can see that they have a hole right through their stomach, and as far gone as they are, they cannot speak, but she pulls their head into her lap anyway, just as she had done for Link a short while ago. The touch seems to bring them some comfort, even though she’s not quite sure that they know she’s actually there and not just a hallucination, and they stretch a trembling hand up towards the one that’s cradled around their shoulder, patting it once before their hand drops back down to the ground. 

She wishes she could say something,  _ anything _ , but the words won’t leave the sanctuary of her mind. Instead, she can only watch as the light fades from their eyes, and their body goes fully limp in her hold. Slumping over their body, a pain radiates through her body like she’s been punched in the gut. She doesn’t realize that she’s started crying again until her tears drip onto their now lifeless face. 

Heaving a sigh to try to control her breathing, Zelda gently lays them down and stands up. She glances anxiously at the bodies surrounding her. As much as she owes it to her subjects to at least give them a proper burial, even with all of her power, she can’t dig that many graves. Nor will she be able to cremate them in any way… 

As she ponders this newest dilemma, a rustling comes from the bushes behind her. Whirling around, she reaches for the power stirring deep within her, only to realize that she’s looking at three small, leaf-shaped faces. 

Koroks. 

The tallest one of the three steps forward. “Don’t worry, Princess! I’ll watch over them until someone can take care of them!” It says, gesturing to the bodies. Zelda nods uncertainly, then turns to the next one. 

The one on the side, the smallest one, comes to stand beside her, grabbing onto the hem of her dress, as the one in the middle says, “We’re coming with you to the castle!” 

Pure shock forces the words from her. “No, you can’t! It’s dange-”

Zelda isn’t quite sure how something with a presumably wooden face can give her such a stern look, but the Korok manages to pull it off quite well. “You can’t stop us,” the korok says. “And besides, the Great Deku Tree protects us! We’ll be fine as long as he’s around!” It sounds much cheerier. 

She knows that she shouldn’t agree to it, but Zelda can’t squash the part of her that’s desperately screaming for some kind of companionship, especially now that Link is gone from her side. 

It might be selfish, but she makes her choice. 

As the three of them walk towards the castle, time passes surprisingly quickly. Zelda finds herself being amused by their antics - they pull her out of the haze of grief and shame that she’s been swallowed up by from the moment the Calamity struck. More and more Koroks come out of the shadows to join them on the way, each carrying a strange-smelling  _ something _ , until they’re a little traveling party of one princess and eighteen Koroks. 

When they reach the outer walls of the castle, a few of the Koroks split from the party to take up positions along the walls and in the gatehouse, and once they reach the castle itself, the Koroks go in all different directions, though not without each of them wishing her the best of luck, and reassuring her that they would be watching. 

Zelda walks to the Sanctum alone, the voice of the Calamity screaming in her mind, but somehow, it doesn’t seem to matter as much now. 

-

Far away, in a cave on the Great Plateau, a korok sneaks into a chamber and takes its place hiding in the shadows behind a shallow bath. 

The princess isn’t the only one needing a little company, after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> i just love the koroks a whole lot 
> 
> [tumblr](https://purple-dragon.tumblr.com/) | [twitter](https://twitter.com/redmoonjelly)


End file.
